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China鈥檚 drive to innovate against history of imitation
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VIJAY V. Vaitheeswaran shared his insights into the essentials of innovation at M Talks China over the weekend.
Having lived in China for four years, Vaitheeswaran’s responsibility as The Economist’s China Business Editor has helped him understand the challenges confronting China.
Many of his insights found their way into his book “Need, Speed and Greed: How the New Rules of Innovation Can Transform Businesses, Propel Nations to Greatness, and Tame the World’s Most Wicked Problems.”
Since China has emerged as the world’s leading manufacturer, Chinese companies have long had a reputation for being good copycats but bad innovators. A few Chinese products are shanzhai (cheap knock-offs), as some have described these imitations.
Over recent years, however, Chinese creativity seems to be catching up.
Telecom equipment makers Huawei and ZTE are already among the world’s top applicants for international patents. Shenzhen is one of the world’s best places to start a cutting-edge electronics firm. Private enterprises, such as Alibaba and Tencent, have become the greatest contributors to employment and economic growth in China, with new business models.
Can such bottom-up dynamism overcome top-down restrictions on the flows of information and people that are the lifeblood of global innovation? Will “Made in China” become “Created in China”? Is the workshop to the world really transforming into a potent crucible of creativity?
Vaitheeswaran said: “I think it’s wrong to ask if China can innovate. The right question should be how well China innovates. Innovation, I mean, is not the invention in terms of technology, gadgets or devices. It is a process of creation of something valuable for the markets or society.
“There are good, bad and ugly lessons through the bumpy road of innovation, but failures are essential.
“And the future of Chinese innovation should be its Chinese characteristic,” he concluded.
In the long tradition of apprenticeship in China, learning starts from memorizing the knowledge and practicing what the master does or teaches. Only a few talented “copycats” can become masters themselves. When one learns by copying the works of a master, they are considered to have completed their apprenticeship. It is only then that the former student is allowed to create something that is their own and can satisfy the market.
Some may describe China’s history of copying as counterproductive, but Vaitheeswaran saw it as an essential period of trial and error, one that will help local manufacturers catch up in due time.
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